(October 8, 2012 at 7:55 pm)popeyespappy Wrote: Most sky divers, bungee jumpers and daredevils in general do it for the adrenaline rush.
In my early twenties I got into skateboarding, climbing and motorcycles. My biggest adventure was skateboarding Devil's Slide on Highway 1, South of Pacifica. This is an area where the coast highway, a twisty two lane road, climbs hundreds of feet above the ocean along sheer cliffs before descending again to near the ocean on the other side.
I think it would have been in the summer of 1977 or 78, following a week of the road being closed for repairs due to the frequent slides. It was on a bright sunny, early Sunday afternoon that a friend and I hiked up through the trees to just beyond the first bend in the freeway from the north side. From there we hiked up the road to the top, admiring what a good job had been done cleaning it off. (The road was scheduled to reopen the next day.)
From the top we skated it twice in the gentler southerly direction. Once back to the top we skated it once coming down the much steeper northern half. It was here that I had my biggest adrenaline rush when I misjudged my ability to scrub off my speed.
By the time I realized I couldn't slow it down without bailing I was going much faster than a man can run. I remember taking one quick stride and only barely touching the ground with my trailing foot before pitching forward. I rolled out of that and came out of it upright but a few feet above the ground. I was still going too fast to run but when I landed I managed to get in 4 or 5 steps before pitching forward again. This time I came out of it on my butt and slid until I stopped.
Wearing pads, high tops, a helmet, gloves and a jacket I managed to escape any street rash or bruises. That fall was a very compressed period during which time seemed to slow, and a rush like no other that I've had. No one saw it but my buddy (who thought I'd be totally messed up). Telling the story is fun but it was the experience itself that matters.
